Scale



Jan. 13, 1942. c. E. BRANICK 2,269,969

SCALE FiledyJan. 5, 1959 2 sheets-sheet 1 .anvil Y 11 @g2g-Ja', 14

Jan; 13, 1942. c. E. BRANICK 2,269,969

SCALE Filed Jan. 5, 1959 zsheets-sheet 2 Patented Jan. 13, 1942 UNITE-D STATESV PATENT OFFICE SCALE CharlesEu. Branick, Fargo, Nl Dak; Application January 5, 1939',4` seriai'No. 249,422

9 Claims.

My' invention relates to an improvement in scales and resides more specifically in a portable scale of the type used to measure the load on vehicle wheels. trailers which have come into common usage inthe past few years, it has become the practice for the road divisions of various State governments to provide means for weighing the load upon vehicle Wheels and to limit the load which may be safely carried by any wheels or truck Furthermore, in many instances, bridges and 'other road supports are unable to safely with- ;atand the load of the heaviest of these trucks and trailers, and the load which these bridges and road supports can safely withstand must not be exceeded. In order to determine the weight upon any vehicle wheel it has been usual practical to provide portable scales which may be moved from one position to another as it has been found that if truck drivers driving extremely heavy loads know they are violating the law, they will often detour about a Weighing station and would otherwise avoid being stopped. It has also been found that many tire. concerns are equipping their plants With weighing devices so thatthey may note the weight of the vehicle upon which the tires are to be used and may recommend certain types of tires accordingly.

The common usage of weighing devices of this nature has been restricted to some extent because of the high price of these devices. It is therefore felt that there is a definite place on the market for a high grade accurate weighing device which is extremely simple in operation and which may be assembled or repaired in a minimum of time and with the least possible amount of effort. It is accordingly the object of the present invention to provide a low price scale which is extremely accurate but which may be sold for a low price.

yIt is a feature of my invention to provide a scale which utilizes a resilient tire or the like for the purpose of supporting the weightso that the variations in pressure due to Weight upon this tire may be measured and the result cali-- brated in terms of the weight upon the tire. In other words, if the tire is filled with thirty pounds of air pressure, it has been found that when a vehicle or other heavy object is placed upon the tire, the vpressure therein increases. The' heavier the object placed upon the tire, the greater the pressure will increase. Itis therefore only necessary to provide a means Aof measuring this variation in pressure to resting upon the tire.

Because of the heavy trucks andr determine the weight air or gas and to provide uponthis tire a load bearing means which will cause the weight to be spread over a large area of the tire. This is important as it prevents the bulging or deformation of the tire at some pont more than at other points and prevents the injury of the tire by an extremely heavy weight.v

It` is` a purpose of my invention to provide a scale embodying a resilient air cushion, a pressuren distributing plate en'gageable' with this air cushion, and aplatform of a simple nature to support the vehiclev being weighed and to transmitthe downward pressure thereupon to the This means in cornweight' distributing plate.

u bin'ation with a simple device for measuring the tire pressure completes the device of the present invention. l

Itis a purpose of the present invention to utilize a circular tire in preferred form, which tire is preferably engaged by a weight distributing plate of such dimensions that even though the tire bepressed entirely flat, this plate will not pinch the portions of the tire at which the bend takes place. In other words, the bearing plate is narrower than the tire when the tire is attened' out, sol that the edges of the tire will not be creased by the bearing plate.

A These and other objects and novel features of myyinvention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of my specification:

Figure 1 is a perspective readiness for operation;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional View longitudinally through thecenter of the scale, the portion of the section being indicated by the line 2-2 of Figure 1. y

Figure 3 isa topl plan View of my scale, portions of the platform plates having been broken away to disclose the construction therebeneath.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the pressure distributing plate used to engage the top of the air containing tire.

Figure 5 is a side elevation view of the load distributing plate illustrated in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional View through the loadbearing plate and through the tire beneath thesame, this figure showing the tire completely deflated.

View of my scale in Figure 7 is a perspective View of one of the load bearing plates.

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic view showing one type of actuating means for transmitting the pressure within the tire to the indicating dial.

The weighing device A comprises a base plate I having oppositely disposed side flanges II and tapered end members I2, These end members I2 extend down in close proximity to the surface of the ground so that a vehicle wheel may be guided easily upon the scale A.

Pivoted between the side flanges I I upon shafts I3 and I4, I provide platform plates I5 and I6. These plates interfit together, nger portions I1 of the plate I5 interlocking with ngers I9 on the plate I6. The fingers I1 and I9 are transversely slotted at 20 and 2I, respectively, as will be best seen in Figures 2 and 'I of the drawings, and a connecting shaft 22 extends through the slots 2U and 2I to cononect the plates I and I6 together. When supported by the tire 23 in a manner which will be later described, the plates I5 and I6 are pivoted upwardly substantially into the position illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings. However, when a heavy vehicle wheel rests upon the plates I5 or I6, or upon both of these plates, the plates pivot downwardly, placing pressure against the tire 23, the shaft 22 sliding in the grooves 2l] and 2 I.

The pressure distributing plate 24 is best illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 of the drawings and is provided with circular reinforcing ribs 25 for increasing the strength of the plate Without increasing the thickness thereof substantially, and is also provided with a pair of spaced aligned bearings 26 projecting upwardly from the up per surface of the bearing plate. The bearings 26 are drilled as shown at 21 in Figure 5 of the drawings, to accommodate the shaft 22 and the bearings 26 extend up between adjacent fingers I1 and I9 to engage this shaft 22. The tire 23 is preferably positioned immediately below the ring-like bearing plate 24.

The tire 23 is preferably of the single tube type commonly used on certain types of implements now manufactured, The valve stem 29 of the tire 23 is secured to a tubular pipe 3D which is preferably recessed in the base plate I0 and which branches into a pair of passages 3I and 32 near the opposite end thereof. A valve, not illustrated but of the type commonly used in automobile tires, is placed in the passage 32 and this passage is closed by the usual type of valve cap 33. The passage 3| communicates with the pressure indicator 34 by means of which the weight upon the platform plates I5 and I6 may be readily determined.

The pressure plate 24 is preferably narrower than the tire 23 when the same is deflated as illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawings. It will be noted that the points of fold of the tire 23 are not engaged by the weight distributing or pressure plate 24, even though the tire 23 is entirely deflated. Thus no injury to the tire will occur even though air be expelled entirely from the tire 23. The pressure indicator 34 may be of any desired type. In the form shown, the indicator 34 is provided with an indicating hand 35 mounted on a central shaft 33. Within the casing of the indicator 34, the shaft 33 is provided with a pinion 36 which engages the teeth of a gear segment 31 pivoted at 39. A link 40 is pivoted at one end 4I to the gear segment 31 at a point spaced from the pivot 39 and is fil connected pivotally at the other end 42 to an arcuated pressure element 43. When the pressure within the tire 23 and accordingly within the pressure element 43 is increased or decreased, the radius of curvature of the element 43 changes, thus moving the link 40 which pivots the gear segment 31, which in turn rotates the pinion 36 and the shaft 33 upon which the pointer 35 is mounted.

The manner in which the present scale may be assembled is believed obvious from an observation of the drawings. The tire 23 is placed upon the base ID and the stern 29 thereof is connected by the passages 30 and 3| to the indicator 34. The load distributing plate 24 is placed upon the tire and the plates I5 and I6 are placed upon the base, the shafts I3 and I4 being inserted into place to pivotally mount the same. The shaft 22 is then put in position in the slots 2U and 2I and in openings 21 of bearings 26, connecting the plates I5 and I6 together. The cap 33 in the passage 32 is then removed, and by means of a pump or any suitable source of air supply, the tire 23 is inflated to some initial pressure, such as for example, thirty pounds of pressure.

The indicator 34 is then calibrated properly so that a weight of five thousand pounds upon the plates I5 and I6 will increase the pressure within the tire 23 sufficiently to rotate the indicator pointer 35 to indicate five thousand pounds on the indicator 34. This calibration is continued until the proper positions for the various weight indications are found. The scale may then be used in the usual manner, the vehcle wheel being rolled upon the plates I5 and I6 until it rests in substantially the center above the shaft 22 anad so that the weight of the vehicle wheel presses the weight distributing plate rrnly against the tire 23. The weight upon the plates will then be registered upon the indicator 34.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described the principles of construction and operation of my scale, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiments thereof, I desire to have it understood that this is only illustrative of a means of carrying out my invention and that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A scale comprising a base, a hollow ringshaped endless tire lying fiat upon said base with its axis vertical, a pressure plate supported above said tire to distribute the pressure thereupon, and indicator means connected to said tire to indicate the Weight of an object depressing said pressure distributing plate.

2. A scale comprising an air containing hollow ring-shaped endless tire arranged upon its side, an indicator gauge operatively connected thereto to indicate the air pressure therein, and weight supporting means upon the side of said tire contacting the tire annularly to distribute pressure onto the same.

3. A scale comprising a base, a hollow ringshaped endless tire arranged with one side resting upon said base with the axis thereof vertical, a weight supporting plate mounted movably with respect to said base bearing against the other side of said tire about a circular area, an indicator for indicating the air pressure Within said tire, and valve means to permit the introduction of airinto said tire.

4. A scale comprising a base, a pair of load supporting plates substantially horizontally pivotally secured to said base to pivot toward or away from said base, a tire interposed between said plates and said base supported in a man# ner to be compressed by downward pivoting of said plates, and an indicator operatively connected to the interior of said tire to indicate variations of pressure therein.

5. A scale comprising a base, a plate pivoted adjacent each end of said base, means slidably and pivotally connecting adjacent ends of said plates together, a load distributing plate pivoted to said connecting means, a tire interposed between said load distributing rplate and said base, and a tire pressure indicator connected to said tire.

6. A scale comprising a base having beveled ends, a plate pivotally connected adjacent each end and forming substantially a continuation of said bevel, means slidably and pivotally connecting adjacent ends of said plates centrally of said base to permit said plates to pivot downwardly at the center of said base, a pneumatic tire interposed between said plates and said base, and an air tire pressure indicator connected to said tire.

7. A scale comprising a base, a pair of plates pivoted along parallel axes to said base, interlocking lingers on adjacent ends of said plates,

means connecting said interlocking fingers to permit downward pivoting of said plates towards said base, a pneumatic tire interposed between said plates and said base, and a tire pressure indicator connected to said tire.

8. A scale comprising a base, a pair of plates pivoted thereto, and having ends pivotally movable toward, or away from, said base, a Weight distributing plate mounted beneath said ends of said plates and in engagement therewith, so that weight on said plates tending to pivot said plates to move said ends toward said base will be transferred to said distributing plate, a tire interposed between said distributing plate and said base, and an air tire pressure indicator connected to said tire.

9. A scale comprising a base, a pair of oppositely disposed flanges extending upwardly from said base, a plate connected adjacent one end to one of said flanges adjacent one end of said base, a second plate secured adjacent one end to the other of said flanges, means connecting adjacent ends of said plates together, said connections being of a type to permit downward pivoting of said plates at substantially the center of said base, a pneumatic tire interposed between said plates and said base, and a tire pressure indicator connected to said tire.

CHARLES E. BRANICK. 

